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Urban Reviews: Tell our
readers about Victim of Trust.
Nikiya Celestin:
Terri Baker is a successful entertainment attorney
who has always tried to live up to her father's expectation of perfection.
When he passed on, she felt she needed to maintain that perfection in her
day-to-day relationships. Terri was very self-absorbed, and it caused her
not to notice the jealousy that surrounded her friendship with her best
friend, Mya. It caused her to undermine her sister, Kira, which caused
tension between the two. It even caused her to keep a devastating secret
from her fiancé, Darnell, and he despised secrets in his relationships.
However, to everyone's surprise, Darnell had a little secret of his own
that would change everyone's lives forever. You'll be surprised by the
outcome! Victim of Trust is a powerful story about love,
friendships, jealousy, lust, lies and deception. Any reader would enjoy
this page-turner!
Urban Reviews: Where did you come up
with the idea for this novel?
Nikiya Celestin: I have always had
a love for writing. As a child, I always wrote poems, short stories, and
songs. I always kept a diary too. Later in life, I developed an interest
in screen writing. I bought several books on the subject and one day I did
one of the exercises, which instructed me to write a detailed scene that
included a conflict between two characters in three pages or less. Long
story short, this exercise gave birth to chapter five, which I ultimately
developed into Victim of Trust.
Urban Reviews: You released your
book under your own company IceBlue Publishing. What made you decide to
self-publish your novel?
Nikiya Celestin: I self-published
Victim of Trust because I knew I had a good story on my hands. It
is hard to break into the literary industry if you are new to the game. It
is also hard to get agents to believe in your work. They are taking a big
risk with new authors and that is understandable. However, I believed in
myself, I believed in my story, and I believed that I had a story that I
knew readers would be able to relate to and appreciate. I did not let
those rejection letters stop me. In fact, it motivated me to make sure I
published Victim of Trust.
Urban Reviews: What are some of the
strengths and weaknesses of self-publishing?
Nikiya Celestin: Self-publishing
gives you the opportunity to market your novel(s) for as long as you deem
fit. The pressure of selling a large amount of books in several months or
risk having them removed from shelves is non-existent. Unfortunately,
being a self-published author can also cause the literary industry not to
take the author or their work seriously. There are many great authors out
there but if a major publishing house is not supporting their project, it
is possible that many people in the industry will not consider working
them. I think you need to work twice as hard, brand yourself, and get the
attention of the major publishing houses. I think you would be good to go
if they are knocking on your door as opposed to you knocking on theirs.
Urban Reviews: Would you consider
signing with a major publisher in the future?
Nikiya Celestin: It would be great
if a major publisher presented me with the opportunity to sign with them.
However, it is something to consider. It would have to be the right deal
for me, not just the first deal I come across. I must say that keeping
some sort of control of my ideas, concepts, and artwork is very important.
I would not like to be in the position where I don't recognize my own
project because so much has changed. My creative input is very necessary.
Urban Reviews: Do you have any
upcoming projects?
Nikiya Celestin: I am working on
completing my second novel, Liar's Addiction, and I have started
the outline for my third novel. I also have another project lined up, but
it's too soon to speak on it yet. Its still in the preliminary stages.
Urban Reviews: Who are some of your favorite authors or books?
Nikiya Celestin:
Besides all of Eric Jerome Dickey's novels, I would
have to say Soul Mates Dissipate by Mary B. Morrison, Flyy Girl
by Omar Tyree, Addicted by Zane, One Better by Rosalyn
McMillan, Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You've Made by Virginia
DeBerry & Donna Grant, and of course Coldest Winter Ever by Sister
Souljah are my all-time favorites. All of these books left a lasting
impression on me once I completed the book. I feel all of these authors
really know how to tell a story. They all inspired me a lot and I would
love to follow in their footsteps.
Urban Reviews: What have you learned
about the book industry being a relatively new author? Is it what you
expected?
Nikiya Celestin: There is
definitely a lot of hard work that is required, and I can honestly say
that I wasn't prepared for it. I am still learning about the industry.
There is a lot of competition out there, so you have to be dedicated and
creative. You have to work hard at making your book stand out amongst the
others. If there are 10 books on the shelf, you have to make the consumer
want to buy your novel. However, its much easier said than done, but then
again nothing is easy in life.
Urban Reviews: What's the best
advice an author or someone in the literary industry has given you?
Nikiya Celestin: I was told that
you cant attain success on your own. You need a Dream Team! This team
consists of people who have your best interest in mind, they support you,
and they make sure all of your goals are completed, or help you towards
completion. You should be able to trust these people with your business
affairs, and oddly enough, I have found that its much harder than I
thought to put a Dream Team together. I will have one some day, though,
but until then, I will continue to pray for the right people to come
within my circle.
Urban Reviews: What do you want the
world to know most about you?
Nikiya Celestin: I want the world
to know that one day I would like to become a public speaker for teenaged
girls. I feel that I can reach out to the ones with the low self-esteem,
the curious ones, and the ones that just want to belong no matter the
cost. I feel these young women should know that there is so much life has
to offer, and they need to start making the right decisions from a young
age because it will determine the type of women they will become in the
future. I have a daughter, so that is something that is very important to
me. If I could change one child's view, other than my own, about life and
making the right life decisions, that would make me very proud. I am also
a very loving and caring person, I value all relationships in my life, and
I love to help people if I am in the position to do so. |
